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‘First do no harm’: The Guardian Feature on Opioid Tapering
More than 3 million Australians are living with chronic pain, and the medical system is struggling to help them as it turns away from its reliance on opioids
I was pleased to have my thoughts on opioid tapering featured in The Guardian feature story on “Life After Opioids” by author Celina Ribiero. I am here to help people understand how and why scientific evidence and patient-centered approaches are critical elements of compassionate and ethical pain care, and why ignoring either of these puts patients at risk for poor outcomes and even grave harms.
And lastly, we must remember that being truly patient-centered means recognizing, fully, that not all patients should be tapered, and that not all patients benefit from tapering.
